Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing Meets Putin in Moscow for Arms, Oil Talks

Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, August 18, to discuss economic and security cooperation.

Min Aung Hlaing seeks fresh supplies of fertilizer, oil, and weapons for his country. Both sides expect to sign several agreements during the talks, which also cover social affairs. A high-level delegation, including several ministers and the head of the Myanmar Space Agency, arrived in Moscow on August 17. This marks Min Aung Hlaing's first trip to Moscow since he assumed a civilian government role as president in April, following a widely criticized election.

Since April, he has also visited India, China, Laos, and Thailand as part of a diplomatic push to expand international ties and bolster his administration's legitimacy. Russia has maintained close ties with Myanmar's military rulers since the 2021 coup, emerging as one of Myanmar's primary arms suppliers. The two countries signed a five-year military cooperation agreement in February.

Russia supplied over US$400 million in advanced weapons to Myanmar's military since the coup, according to a UN report in May 2023, including six Sukhoi Su-30 fighters and attack helicopters. Myanmar is also working with Russia's Rosatom State Corporation to build a small nuclear power plant. On August 12, Myanmar's Customs Department awarded a contract to Astra Consulting LLC, a subsidiary of Russia's sanctioned Astra Group, to develop a National Single Window Web Portal Project for import and export documentation.

Rights groups claim Russian air power has been used in the military's air campaign against civilians and civilian areas across Myanmar. Min Aung Hlaing's administration rejects calls to free ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.